A digital certificate is electronic information associated with a user computer and with the communications and the signals from the user computer, whereby the digital certificate establishes the credentials of a computer and/or the user of the computer who communicates or sends a signal from the user computer. Digital certificates rely on trusted certification authorities which receive requests for and issue digital certificates. Certification authorities are trusted because they are bound by legal agreements to create only valid and reliable digital certificates. An X.509 digital certificate includes a version identifier which identifies which version of the X.509 digital certificate standard was employed in creating the digital certificate, and a serial number uniquely identifying the digital certificate within the issuing certification authority. Such a digital certificate also includes a signature algorithm identifier identifying the signature algorithm used by the certification authority to sign the digital certificate, an issuer name identifying the certification authority which signed the digital certificate, and a validity period defining for what time period the digital certificate is valid. The digital certificate also includes a subject name of the entity whose public key is contained in the certificate, a subject public key information identifying the encryption algorithm and the public key of the entity to which the digital certificate is issued, and the digital signature of the issuing certification authority. The digital signature of the issuing certification authority is calculated over the rest of the digital certificate using the public key of the certification authority. The digital certificate is created by the issuing certification authority when a qualified requestor requests the digital certificate and provides the necessary information. The certification authority may retain a list of digital certificates, termed a certificate revocation list, which it earlier issued but has since revoked.